Students voice opinions over uniforms

By Liam McKenna | Feb 10, 2014

Yoga pants, hoodies, jeans, v-necks and all the other clothing kids love to wear could be going by the wayside at Wareham Public Schools. While students have a range of opinions on the matter, it appeared a majority were against change.

The primary reason for students being against uniforms appears to be losing individuality.

“I wouldn’t really want uniforms because you wake up and you don’t want to wear the same thing over and over again,” said high school student Caitlyn Berger. “We can make a guideline of what we can wear to school.”

“It would make the school just one big black blob filled with people in black clothing. There would be no color,” said Decas Elementary student Ann Marie Perry. “What happens if you’re in one class, and you get mixed up in another class? What if you can’t find your class?”

“Everyone should be able to express themselves with how they dress,” middle school student Alliaya Hall said.

“We should be able to wear what we want. I like wearing my sweatpants when I’m feeling tired. I like to dress pretty when I’m feeling pretty,” high school student Malange DePina said. “I shouldn’t have to wear what someone tells me to wear. I feel like we’re not a private school.”

“Changing to uniforms is just going to be terrible,” DePina added. “The kids who do not want to wear them will not wear them, and it’s just going to cause problems.”

“Even right now, they throw IDs into the mix, and people don’t wear that,” DePina said.

Not all student opinions were unfavorable to uniforms, though.

“I think it would be a lot classier, and it would be a way to stop bullying,” high school student MacKenzie Connell said.

Superintendent Kimberly Shaver-Hood said uniforms would be a good way to prevent the bullying of students who can’t afford the nicest clothing. However, students say the biggest bullying is around shoes.

“Students are very fashion-conscious. If I don’t have the Abercrombie or whatever the latest trend is, or the whatever the outfit of the day is… sometimes that could cause me to get picked on as a student,” said Shaver-Hood.

Bullying around shoes is not just an issue reserved for the high school, though.

Students “make fun of this one kid because he wears, like, Skechers,” Hall said.

“You would have to add shoes to the whole thing,” Connell said.

“I don’t think it’s going to prevent bullying,” DePina said.

Connell added that shoes are not the only issue.

“There is some bullying based on clothing,” Connell said. “You hear: ‘Those clothes are old. You wear those clothes all the time.’ I can hear it every day.”

While some students may disagree with the possible measure, they can understanding its reasoning.

“I wouldn’t wear them, but I can see why they’d want them,” high school student Dana Fernandes said. “It’s a safety thing you can tell if somebody different is coming in the school and it makes the school look neater as a whole.”

“Target has uniforms. Walmart has uniforms. You can find a polo shirt just about anywhere,” said Shaver-Hood.

Comments (3)

Posted by: Spherebreaker | Feb 13, 2014 11:03

Its not up to the students if they like it or not. This is about adults who are paying for their educations and not seeing results. Those results come from respect and hardwork and its obvious neither is in place for many.

Posted by: salemsam50 | Feb 13, 2014 12:51

What ever happened to the school dress code? 40 years ago, we couldn't wear shorts, or anything that was too revealing. 15 years ago Wareham had a NO tolerance for T-shirts with logos on them and revealing clothes. Today everything goes....? Is it to make sure the kids will come to school? The parents don't care? What ever happened to just being neat and clean?

Posted by: Steve Holmes | Feb 13, 2014 14:36

I went to Catholic School in NB we had uniforms with a tie, and certain shoes included, of course that was many years ago. When Heather was growing up she went to Holy Family in NB -uniforms for all. Sean also went to Holy Family and he had uniforms. He left Holy Family during the 4th grade and went to public school. We saved money on the tuition, but we spent a bunch of money on clothes and especially sneakers. I have no issue buying my sneakers at Wal Mart but apparently the other kids will make fun of you if you wear them to school. I wish he did have to wear a uniform. I also do remember the last 2 years at HF, they had a special deal worked out with a uniform company, you could go to the web site, put in the school name, select the grade, and put in the sizes, and they would either deliver to the school or to the house. The prices were very reasonable. I am sure this same sort of deal could be worked out with Wal-Mart or Target or someone else. At the end of the year or when he & Heather grew out of the clothes, we would take them into school where they had a bin, and parents could go through the clothes and take them for their children. One of the comments I read was that everyone looked the same. Well I also remember while working at St Luke's, the transition from regular clothes to uniforms and scrubs, again a few years ago. Different Departments chose different colors to represent their Departments. So I guess the kids could get together and vote on a specific colored shirt for their grade. In both of those scenarios, work or school, once they established the policy we did not have a choice as to wear them or not, we did. The first year would be the toughest because you would not have the "bin" for contributions. I think its a good idea and any issues can be worked out. Maybe a gradual roll out by Grade would help with the "bin" situation.